The Dreaded Thing-Y
by akanenoyuki089
Summary: So, is highschool really the worst place to be? Is it possible for a nerdy, ordinary girl to befriend the school's dominant, dynamic boy? Mix in the popularity, the status, and issues, the rumors... what do you get? One dreaded thing-y, that's what. OOC&AU.
1. Chapter 1

To The Book I Refuse to call Diary,

Highschool. That one word that brings every effin' single situation, ranging from invisibility moments to moments where the whole school stares and looks at you possible. Highschool. That one place where, as quote by one of our school's most popular jock, Shishio, 'The weak becomes food for the strong.' is actually implied. Highschool. The place where things in skirts 6 inches below the waist rule ogres who walk the corridors of the very school. Highschool. The place where boys who's heads are literally stuck in basketball hoops rule girls who swoon to their every move. Highschool. The noun which describes my hell. HIGHSCHOOL. Detention was the worst; long story short, I got it when I was late for more than 30 minutes because the alarm's battery was empty and I slept in. I look around the room, the teacher nowhere in sight and, well I don't have a choice but to write in you, now don't I?

So, my name is **Kamiya Kaoru**, sophomore at Raijin Gakuen. My life before highschool was comfortable, may I add; and I was very satisfied with how my life played out until then. But when puberty and hormones kicked everyone in the shins except me, my balanced life became all topsy-turvy. Never knew why, always blamed it on video games; but when I outgrew them I still find my situation the same. And next thing you know everyone was talking about their boyfriends and girlfriends. Meanwhile, I'm just sitting here like, _that wall… is a nice wall._ Story of my life.

But I don't pity myself, I never had, and never will get to the point where I turn my speakers to full blast playing Carly Rae Jepsen's 'Call Me Maybe'. I'm just not that desperate. Erm… okaayy… sometimes I get a little carried away and end up eating jars of chocola-that's not the point! Pheww… okay, let's continue. And the thing is, you don't know who to hate in highschool unless you find out they've been quietly digging your grave and ready to pull you in from the bac-

"Well, what do we have here?" I literally jumped in my seat and closed the black notebook, as I look behind to see Raijin Gakuen's very own female pop-star sensation, Megumi Takani looking past my shoulder. She smiled sweetly, and I unconsciously narrowed my eyes.

**Megumi Takani.** Her parents are both doctors, they came from Aizu, and she became famous through a youtube video sensation. I watched it, she was a good actress and singer (She mostly fit the role of a sly and cunning fox) , but I had to quit youtube sooner or later; look at the left side! It's seriously hard to enjoy watching a video with Nicki Minaj staring at you like _that. _Or any random person at the side of the video.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt you." Her smile brightened. My eyes narrowed further… what's _the_ Megumi Takani doing here… in _detention?_

"No, it's okay. But may I ask what a sensational pop-star is doing here? Not that I mind you being here… it's just that it's-" she cut me off, "Isn't it obvious? I go wherever Ken-san goes. Jaa ne." She says with a wink, before walking away. 'Ken-san?' what the devil is a Ken-san?

And just on cue, the door opens and-enter dramatic music and slow-mo walking-red hair being blown softly by the wind, eyes which sparkled a dark amethyst glitter, and a perfect smile plastered on his perfect, flawless face. And… the girls swoon. It's always been like this. And I mean it-ALWAYS.

**Kenshin Himura.** Hmmm… where should I start… Aaa, his status. He could be like, the school's most adorable and innocent boy but at the same time could be the devil himself when something doesn't go his way. He is the successor of Seijurou Hiko, rumored to be the most famous and wealthiest weapon dealer in the whole of Japan. And the students, aaa, students bowed their heads and looked up to him in respect; in other words, he ownedthe school. Behind him followed 2 of the most famous playboys in the school; Sanosuke Sagara and Shinomori Aoshi.

**Sanosuke Sagara.** He has this twisted personality of a bad boy always looking for brawls and fights; strange enough, that magnetized a lot of hardcore and naughty girls. He is the only son of Sagara Sozu, leading the most discreet and dangerous yakuza, the Sekihoutai. He's got the mark of 'Aku', meaning evil printed at the right sleeve of his varsity jacket; no one knew what that signified. So not only are those who seek fights with him stupid, they also most likely have a signed their death certificate if they wish to face Sagara Sanosuke.

**Aoshi Shinomori.** The leader of a group of well-trained spies, the Oniwabanshu. Rumour has it that he has mastered one of the hardest techniques of the ninjas, kempo, and anyone who stands against his group and his weapon, the double kodachis, is to be sent to an early deathbed. Now his personality is of the cold kind; always making people think twice before approaching him; a lot of girls admire him from afar, and only those who are really close to him had known what exactly was the Oniwabanshu's main goal from the start… not that I have any plan to find out.

Megumi latched her arm around Himura and dragged him to the far end corner to my right. Himura smiled what was supposed to be a heart-melting smile… ugh, gag me with a spoon. I roll my eyes and continued to write.

Yes, I'm back. Darn it, that Himura really is a like a double-edged sword. Synthetic, his personality is; and the only good thing I notice about him is his eyes-amethyst. But still, it doesn't change anything. So you're wondering why I hate the guy's guts so much? I'll tell you why.

I met him around age 13 and during the clean-up drive, I found a rotting dead badger he put on my locker (I knew it was him, he left a letter stating his clear introduction) the smell lasted for a week! Then my friends convinced me to get back at him and we formulated a plan to fill his shoes with clear, super-stick glue. And a war broke between us since then. Age 14, he pretended to be a 'newly-changed' person and asked for us to be friends (With youth, comes great stupidity, I believed in him) then he asked me out to the school dance.

"_Hey." I raised an eyebrow, looking at my arch-nemesis who spoke out_

"_Yes, I know, whatever dress I'm gonna wear tonight is gonna suck. Now go away." I snapped and noticed the strange atmosphere when he sighed; it almost seemed sad and… well, hopeful. ALMOST._

"_It's not that. Look, I'm sorry for all the things I've done in the past, okay? I want to start making things right." He looked away and my heart was thumping wildly against my hardbound books I held close. What was happening? _

I mumbled something like 'iwuvredvelvetcakee' and I'd said yes. When we were there, he led me to the center of the gym and a green-colored slime poured out from a bucket hanging in the ceiling.

My friends ran up to me, naturally, and starting dabbing me and my clothes with hankies while the Himura jerk was smirking, laughing along with the crowd. His expression told me he wanted tears, but instead, I did the one thing that felt awesome and painful at the same time.

I punched him.

Yes, I punched the heir of a deadly weapon dealer and it felt nice. Oh, the irony and joy! Then I started throwing food at him until I realized everyone had followed. And me and my friends got suspended for starting the biggest, longest, and messiest food fight in the history of Raijin Gakuen.

Oh, when I actually had friends. I never knew what changed when suddenly, we weren't so close anymore and my life related to them being 'somebody that I used to know'.

But my life took a turn for the worse when the morning after that, I find myself being the center of attention, with the coldest, piercing stare of Kenshin Himura… with his lips intently and almost forcefully placed on mine. 

~~~Hello once again! ^_^ so I was originally inspired by Sapphire-Mirror's story, 'Something Real', (I advise you to read it, and PLEASE someone convince her to continue the story -_-) and this is the introduction to my new story. Comments, sarcasm, creative criticism, I accept anything; just push the REVIEW button and tell me what you think. Also, I apologize for any grammatical errors and/or spellings

~~~May~~~


	2. Chapter 2

DISCLAIMER: Never had, never have, and never will own RuroKen.

* * *

Dear not-a-diary,

Labels. Yeah, did I mention labels in highschool? It's all about it, by the way. There are certain cliques in every school and the clique you belong to, or the clique you hang around already describes your personality as a whole; quote by head-cheerleader, Yumi Komagata. But the thing is, I'm neutral (Well, I'd like to believe I'm neutral.) Like seriously, I don't excel at anything I'm aware of. I'm just an average highschool girl barely passing math, sometimes skipping PE, and loves eating. Oh, by the way, food is my life. Obviously, and literally. Chocolate is my first love, lasagna comes second (Blame Garfield for influencing me), and a whole bunch of other food make me feel 'locked up in heaven.'

But wait-my point isn't food (As much as I would love to talk about food all day), its labels; and this single label determines the way people are supposed to treat you. And I think I don't need to give examples now, do I? Well my retelling of today's events led to people's labeling me from 'insignificantly neutral' to 'we-must-hunt-down-and-execute-this-girl-for-being-with-our-beloved-Kenshin-Himura commoner.' Oh, the things going around the heads of Himura's fan club (Yep, I overheard them talking about how they were to make a banner concerning that, and yep, he has a fan club.) Anyway, just watch and… oh, I forgot, you're a book. Well, read along as I write in you while muttering things about the ridiculous Gangnam Style song currently on the radio.

* * *

Blank. My state of mind went… BEEEPP. Blank. All-over, I tell you. That is how I would describe my feeling of being… uggh, do I dare say it, being KISSED by the Raijin's infamous red-headed boy.

My mind's wheels were turning; urging me to kick, scream, bite, punch, ANYTHING! I wanted to thrash and throw the most vile words to him but the only thing I did there was to stand with blank, open eyes as voices swirled around me.

"She's the girl I was describing."

"She's the one who hunted my dreams."

"…And she's mine."

I stared, completely speechless, not completely processing what he was saying…did he just? Next thing I knew he was dragging me away from the shocked faces of our schoolmates towards the empty, quiet rooftop.

The bright blue sky, the comforting peace and quiet, the vast, wide space with white tiled floors, the ambiance and scenery… all were ruined by one single look of the sloppy mess of red hair in front of me. Yeah, like they say, 'why do all good things come to an end?'

"Look, this wasn't supposed to happen, and I-"

And hearing his voice I was brought back to earth. THE WEIGHT OF THE WORLD FINALLY BONKED ME ON THE HEAD.

"AAHH! What have you done!" taking off my shoes, I took immense pleasure in beating him with them. "Baka! Baka no red-headed baka!"

"Are you insane?! Stop it!"

"Oh, I implore you to give me a reason to stop!" Yes, feel the wrath of sophomore student, Kaoru Kamiya!

"Ow! Look, it's not-ow! A big deal!"

"You insufferable jerk! Oh Kami, what have I done to deserve this!" he took my shoes, _threw _them to the far right, and turned me around, grasping my hands as I still try to kick him. I mean like, why me? Out of all the girls who would gladly take much pleasure to him kissing them senseless, why did it have to be me?

"Stop… overreacting! It was just one kiss, for pete's sake!" he spat out and by now I stopped thrashing and let my mouth hung open-_just_ a kiss?

"Insensitive jerk! That's not it! You just don't get it, do you?!" I forcefully withdrew my arms and faced him with the most vicious look I could muster.

"I'm a common, perfectly ordinary girl! Not some scantily clad whore or—or-or the school's queen bee!" breathe in… breathe out. Hyperventilating helps, doesn't it? "And do you even remember me?"

"Of course I do…" I raised an eyebrow, waiting for his answer, "Umm… Ayame?" I groaned out loud, how is that even close to Kaoru? I heard him mutter "That was the most common name I could think of…" oh, could this day get any worse?

"Just proves that you do go around kissing strangers." I assured with an apparent nod of my head.

He quirked up, "But you do know me, right?"

"Doh. We've been at each other's throats for the past 2 years... until you finally stopped... but what would I expect? I'm always easily forgotten anyways," I rolled my eyes, "They shouldn't be able to recognize me if I let my hair loose…" I muttered to myself.

This time, he rolled his eyes and sighed, "Shouldn't girls like you feel honored? Or is this just an act; because if my memory serves me just right, I do remember encountering thoughtful, desperate girls who make it seem like they loathe my very being and make the 'opposites do attract' move." He smirked. He friggin' _smirked._ 'Desperate'? Ooohh… the nerve! His glimmering violet orbs were shimmering with mischief…

Then I snapped. And slapped him as hard as I could. The sound reverberated and a red hand print was seen throughout his flawless face, but his eyes were hidden by red, wild bangs that I couldn't determine his thoughts. With shaking, trembling hands, I nearly felt my knees wobble and my mind swirl uncontrollably.

"Opposites do not attract! I am like water and you, like oil! We can never, ever be compatible together because you are literally the narcissus of the century!" at first, I was like 'What? What did I just say?' I knew my sentence didn't even make the slightest sense but I was already walking away and I admit; I felt the dangerous, emanating aura behind me. 5 steps… 3 steps… 2 steps towards the door handle, someone suddenly grabbed hold of my wrist, and pushed me back against the cold, hard, solid wall.

"You are playing a very… very dangerous game here, miss; I'm sure you're aware of that." I gulped down and faced the abnormally flickering eyes of the boy inches away from me. Gold. The light was being drawn to his amethyst eyes and instead produced a dangerous glint of gold. I shuddered involuntarily.

"Your eyes…" I breathed out and he raised an eyebrow, scrutinizing me from his view. My wrists were still bound by his strong grip and I bit back my obvious fear.

His head slightly tilted to the right and I unconsciously drew in his unfamiliar but comforting scent, noticing how deep his eyes looked. "L-Let me go." That line was supposed to come out strong and unwavering, but my voice betrayed me and instead came out more of a squeak.

"You're not seriously scared of me, are you? After showing me just how stubborn-headed you were not just a minute ago." He tilted his head to the left, as if analyzing his prey… that now being me. His voice was deep and husky, simply implying the danger in me daring to defy him.

"I have nothing to say to you, Kenshin Himura." Now that came out rather breathy,

"I will let this go, once. But if you ever do something as humiliating like that again… let's just see what happens, ne? Miss…" his eyes travelled down and he grasped my I.D card by the sling; oh great, now he knows my name. "Kamiya Kaoru, huh? Kamiya... Kamiya... Oh, now I remember; you're the slime girl, right?" he loosened his grip and his eyes were getting back their normal amethyst color, and I mentally breathed out a sigh of relief, despite the hateful nickname 'Slime girl.'

"Let's make a deal, shall we, Kamiya-san?" I raised a mental question, 'I have no say in this, do I?' and he nodded as if getting it.

"As long as it doesn't involve sex, drugs, and money… scratch that, if it involves money like you paying me, then continue." He smirked, as if amused, and I crossed my arms in front of me; hello, doesn't he know the definition of personal space?

"Join us later at lunch… as my girl." His tone was so serious I almost believed him. I held back laughter at his ridiculous suggestion,

"Ahahahaha… no, like seriously," I looked at his _still_ serious expression and my eyes widened. No. He's actually serious?

"Seriously?! And who do you mean by 'us'? You mean your clique of for-populars-only? Himura, do you want me to die an early social death?"

"Do I look like I'm kidding?" he gritted through bared teeth and I inhaled sharply. Oohhh-kaay, I have to stay away from the danger zone.

"B-but… why? And if you don't mind my bombarding of questions… What's in it for me? Why me when there's Takani-san and a whole lot better more, and why look for a fake girlfriend when you can have a real one in like, 3 minutes?" he slightly moved away and stood beside me, now leaning his head on the wall in the same manner as mine.

"Well, my uncle Hiko always told me, 'Disregard females… acquire currency.'" I lightly laughed, mostly because the quote made sense and was realistic. "So I just don't want to get caught up in any serious relationship," I looked towards him; his voice convinces but his amethyst eyes say otherwise (Wow, so now I can just read people's deepest thoughts through their eyes, huh?)

"And I chose you… because the guys were… talking crap about how whipped I was for… ack! Forget it, I chose you because you were there when I needed to prove something to the guys, okay?" I lightly punched him on the arm, "Tsk. What, you need to prove you're not gay?" his eyes slightly narrowed, "I'm guessing the truth isn't just as shallow as that, isn't it? Well, I'll soon find out the _real _reason. Whelp, back to the eminent question; for me, at least, what do I gain?" he turned to look at me,

"Well what do you want?" I raised an eyebrow; noticing a pattern wherein a hint of arrogance always graces his every statement.

"If I asked for a house and lot, complete with dazzling cars and 50 maids, will you give it to me?" I narrowed my eyes,

"Haha. Funny, but no," Sheesh, sarcasm that obvious, huh?

He continued, "Seriously, you said you wanted money, right?" I considered this a bit. No, I wasn't that desperate for money, but leeching off him just for a few days could pay off… right?

"Well, before I agree, just how long do you expect this fake relationship to last? And no, I don't want money; I just… want to…" a moment of silence passed before the wind blew lightly against our faces.

"Huh, strange, I actually don't know what I want. Let's just go with this: I'll go with you, once, on your offered introduction later at lunch and if I think this could be a worthy pastime, I'll agree." He pushed himself off the wall and faced me, offering a hand.

"Clean deal?" Hesitating, I shook it,

"Yes. Clean deal." as his infectious grin made me grin as well.

"Hey… did we just skip classes?" I asked on our way down the staircases,

"You actually care?" See? The arrogance is present and as obvious as day.

I sighed. "Nevermind…" Is this the effect of being a female highschooler (Is that even a word?) wanting to experience a normal high school life?

* * *

Yippee! Another chapter done! XD oh, please, please, please REVIEW! Haha, I'm literally pleading you guys to tell me what you think. Anyways, I apologize for any grammatical errors, spellings, and such. It's a little early but yeah, goodnight, and Happy Valentines Day! XD

~~~~~~May~~~~~~~


	3. Chapter 3

To The Book Who Has No Name (And No, This Is Not A Diary),

If somebody ever asks you to do something, do it really bad so you never have to do it again: yeah, a rip-off from Paris Hilton's quotes; a little bit conceited and selfish but… still applicable. By the way, did I mention the highlights of today's events? No? (Oh, great thing you got going there, Kaoru, questioning a black, lifeless notebook and waiting for an answer… just _great_.) Well, for starters, lunch went by great, actually. Like really, really, _really_ great. Note the sarcasm? Good.

Before I proceed to retell today's most horrendous events, I'll admit this. You don't get to have everything you want in this world. And even so, the things and situations you wouldn't want to be caught dead in happen to you. The wheels of fate are turning again, aren't they? What you want, you don't get; what you don't want, you get. Does that even make sense? Well, it does for me. Why, you ask? Let's just start with this one big problem.

Misconception. My life is one, big MISCONCEPTION. People always misunderstand me for who I am, what I'm like, and what my real situation is. Gossips… rumors… backstabbers… had long ruined my goody-two-shoe image, when I just wanted to be understanding and friendly to everyone. Is being too friendly a crime? Is it to be judged? Is it plasticity? NO. I just wanted to show everyone the good side of me; and _fate_ rebounded and punched me square in the face. I mean like, seriously, why don't things ever go my way? And so let's face my current situation. The root of all misconceptions and twists is the stupid decision affecting fate and how I pondered upon officially accepting Himura Kenshin's offer to be a fake-girlfriend.

* * *

"You're really going to introduce me, aren't you?" we stood facing the double doors that had red, bold letters printing CAFETERIA. I bet inside is a whole group of destructive mammals who _try _to be cool and swagger and… oh did I just use the word _swagger?_ And did I even use the word in the right way? And no, I'm not a racist, I'm just annoyed by that word and everything related to it.

I turned to him to see him still with that smug look plastered on his face and he suddenly grabbed my hand.

"Whoa! What's with the grabbing and stuff?" his grip tightened; I am NOT a fan of any form of PDA.

"We're late for like 15 minutes already. Just relax, 'kay? Trust me and let's just get this over with." And here we come, bursting through the doors hand-in-hand as if joining together to start a mass _revolution_ or something of that matter (Hunger Games Trilogy Syndrome at work) …and cue the awkward silence (Yep, remember when I mentioned moments where the whole school population stares at you? This is one of those uncomfortable moments.)

Oh look, I suddenly find my shoes much more interesting than the tense atmosphere around and ignoring the way my hand is still entwined with Himura's and how I'm resisting the urge to stomp his foot and just run like a madman… well, mad-_girl_ for me. But I'm pretty sure it would rain bullets for me every day if I do that to Himura now. I picked up a tray of food while Himura just settled with a can of coffee.

"Hey Kenshin!" a familiar voice cut through my train of thought and Himura led me towards a certain circular table, inconspicuously located at the center of the room. And guess who were seated there? Oh, just the most popular and known students of Raijin Gakuen, no biggie. I scoffed, yeah right; I'd look cool sitting there like a sore thumb sticking out around all the others.

"Hey, man; thought you weren't coming," I stared as the familiar figure of Sanosuke Sagara seated amongst 2 more known students shared matching grins with Himura beside me as a sign of their acknowledgement.

"Oh? The jou-chan from this morning?" his gaze averted to me and it was the first time I noticed the white bandages around his arm as he stood up and offered it.

"Yup, guys, this is Kaoru Kamiya, my… erm; girlfriend." I believe the last part was forcefully choked out, and we shared a look; but I couldn't blame him, I'd do a lot worse if I were a sensual popular boy introducing a shockingly-ordinary girl as his said _girlfriend._

"Yeah, pretty obvious with the sudden liplock this morning, Kenshin." I felt blood running to my cheeks and my eyes widened at the… how-do-I-describe-this memory of _that._

"Name's Sagara Sanosuke, but I'm pretty sure you're aware of that little tidbit." I settled the tray of food on the table and shook his hand, forcing out a smile; dear arrogance, birds with the same feathers really do flock together, huh?

I sat to the left of Himura as the others continue to gawk at me. What, was it their first time to be around a girl not radiating an aura of attractiveness and popularity?

"Ah! I remember you, detention girl!" pairs of eyes flicked to Megumi Takani, as she smiled sweetly, "I didn't know you and Ken-san were already together… ummm… if you don't mind my prying, since when?" uh-oh… a moment of silence spread out and I thought it was all over; as Kenshin sighed tiredly, seriously mulling over his thoughts. And here I am, obviously relaxed and fondling a red solo cup. Then suddenly, Toby Keith's voice popped out of my head, and one of the most terrible songs' lyrics I hated floated around me.

'_I love you red solo cup. I lift you up. Proceed to party!' _

Oh my Kami; snap out of it Kaoru! You're in the most critical situation that could end up in total embarrassment unless you come up with a rational reason and here you are _thinking_ about Toby Keith _professing_ his love to a disposable, colored plastic piece of _drink ware._

"We've… started dating for a… few weeks, but because Kamiy-uh, _Kaoru_ said she didn't want unnecessary attention, we agreed to keep it a secret. Until a certain someone started to act cupid and started matching me up with a close friend." I breathed out a sigh of relief at the smooth lie; thank you red solo cup! I'm guessing he's used to these situations, but then again, who am I to judge? He glared at Sagara while he just turned to look away and a sheepish smirk played on his lips,

"Wasn't aware, man. Wasn't aware." He held up his hands in defense. While Himura and Sagara engaged in a conversation not understood by me, Takani flipped her hair and leaned forward towards me, "Ooh, I love your jacket, where'd you get it?" I blinked confusion and looked around; just to be sure she was really talking to me. Well, shock; she is talking to me. But _the _Takani Megumi likes my plain, old white jacket?

"T-Thanks, my mom gave it to me."

"Well, just make sure you take care of Ken-san, ne? And by the way, you have such gorgeous hair! It's natural, isn't it?" Wow, isn't she nice? But wait-wasn't she supposed to like super hate me for being with Himura? She should be PMS-ing and cursing me by now; judging how much she clung to him yesterday.

I was about to answer and say it wasn't as good as hers but then the third person who was quietly sitting until now spoke up,

"You just met her, Meg. Save your gruesome plasticity for later." Megumi Takani looked startled and faced Aoshi Shinomori. And I, sat there completely speechless; was it really just plasticity? I rolled my eyes; oh, what is this, a remake of 'Mean Girls'?

"This is an A B conversation, Aoshi, so you can just 'C' your way out of it." …And let the glaring commence. Having nothing to do, I picked at my food.

Observing my surroundings, I see… a couple _subtly_ making out in the corner (Oh, eat up your faces people, and go get a room!), sassy girls' table where they _try _to cutely laugh at freaking _everything _(Give them the _corniest_ joke, they'll laugh at it), jock's table showing them _showing_ off more skin than necessary (Guess what they're talking about?), and someone at the next table blasting the song 'Black and Yellow' while everyone at that table started nodding their heads to the beat.

_Yeah, uh huh, you what it is _

_Black and yellow_

_Black and yellow_

_Black and yellow_

_Black and yellow_

Hmm… I wonder what the next lines gonna be…

_Yeah, uh huh, you what it is _

_Black and yellow_

_Black and yellow_

_Black and yellow_

_Black and yellow_

Oh, Kami I hate this annoyingly repetitive song. I rolled my eyes until the double doors opened once more to show 2 more students heading towards our-ehem… _their_ table. The **Yukishiro twins, Tomoe and Enishi.**

**Yukishiro Tomoe. **Miss Prim and Proper-with the highest grades in Math and Physics (Two of my HATEST subjects) walked towards our table in a slow-mo effect with a dazzling smile and a hint of subtle cheeriness in her glimmering, obsidian eyes. School rumor has it that their parents were divorced shortly after their father indulged in drugs and had a mistress, while their mother sank into depression. But then after years of continuous problems and poverty, their mother recovered and remarried a high-ranking government official, thus sky-rocketing their lifestyle. Also part of the cheerleading squad, Yukishiro Tomoe is the girl completely opposite of me, and someone I could never be.

**Yukishiro Enishi. **While his twin sister was like a warm, glowing ball of sunshine, Yukishiro Enishi was like the cold, white snow. The Yukishiro twins together were like Yin and Yang; his sister having dark eyes and hair while him having silvery-white hair and light-turquoise eyes. Overly-protective of his sister, and is the current captain of the basketball team. He was also once linked with the head cheerleader, Yumi Komagata, until captain of the football team; Makoto Shishio heard about it and challenged Yukishiro Enishi. I was one of the onlookers that day, and trust me: the sight of 2 of the worst villains going against each wasn't pretty.

"Hey guys," Tomoe cheerfully chirped, holding a tray of food while Enishi was still following behind her.

"You're both late, _again."_ Takani rolled her eyes as the twins sat next to each other. Now, the seating arrangement went like this: to my right, was Himura, followed by Sagara, Takani, and round-about, Shinomori, Yukishiro Tomoe, and Yukishiro Enishi. Sitting beside Enishi was awkward as hell, and while I prayed they wouldn't notice me (Huh, think that's possible?) Tomoe's eyes darted towards me,

"Oh, hey," she lifted an eyebrow at Himura, asking for an introduction, who blinked away in obvious daydreaming. I furrowed my eyebrows, had he just been staring at Tomoe? I don't mean to be assuming, it's just that… oh nevermind.

Sensing that Himura's head wasn't as clear as it once was, I spoke up for myself; "I-I'm Kaoru Kamiya, Himura's…" I fiddled with my hands, just say the word, Kaoru; just say it.

"Yeah. Kenshin's _girlfriend._" I nodded at Tomoe, and I just couldn't pronounce his name right, whilst Himura shot me a look of pure annoyance. Oh, a ball of joy he is, isn't he?

"O-Oh, really?" her eyes flitted between the both of us, and I smiled an unsure smile. Yeah, I'm here acting all flustered and embarrassed like a proper lady should when inside I feel like doubling over and rolling on the floor laughing at us being called a 'couple'.

"Well, congratulations, Kenshin! Kami, do you know how long I've waited for you to have a nice and decent girlfriend so that I can finally have someone to share 'moments' with?" nice and decent, huh? I wonder what's about Himura's past girlfriends that made Tomoe say that… She turned to me, "Nice meeting you Kamiya-san, I'm Yukishiro Tomoe, Kenshin's childhood friend, but you can just call me Tomoe. And I have lots and _lots_ of things and embarrassing moments to share to you about Kenshin." She winked and I curtly nodded; they were childhood friends? For the past 2 years of battling Himura, I never thought they'd be childhood friends. Wait-this girl with an angel's personality _befriended_ a beast of horrendous mood?

"Thank a lot, mum." Himura muttered while obviously rolling his eyes and Tomoe let out a girlish laugh. Then she nudged Enishi, who tiredly sighed,

"Yukishiro Enishi." He muttered and I smiled half-heartedly, "Nice meeting your acquaintance." Wow, how formal; and that got me thinking… they really are complete opposites.

* * *

**NO ONE'S POV**

Megumi Takani was skipping to her class; thinking about the raven-haired girl from earlier. Her happy façade shifted and grey, lifeless eyes replaced the once glittering ones. Her smile dropped and she seemed to be thinking quite deep, until a startling voice behind her called out.

"Hey fox!" she stopped in her tracks, closing her eyes and turned around. _The things I have to deal with everyday…_

"What're you doing tonight?" she tilted her head to the side, obviously uninterested,

"Trying to forget you just asked me that." Swirling around one more time, she trudged forward, while the happy-go-lucky Sanosuke Sagara followed behind.

"You know, you have a _lifetime_ to spend being a bitchy fox. Why don't you take a day off?" he cut in front of her and she stopped, facing him.

"Unlike you, I'm actually busy getting to class. Can I ignore you some other time?" she tried to walk past him but he blocked, swerving from left to right,

"What is your problem?" she sighed out frustratingly,

"Tsk. And you're asking me that? You act like… like you're on the verge on menopause every single time I talk to you." She flipped her hair, giving him an I-don't-care look,

"You have something better to say?" she asked in a monotone type of voice and Sanosuke sighed; he just couldn't get this girl to open up no matter how hard he tried.

"Dinner-auction, Kenshin's place, 7 PM, sharp." He muttered walking past her, leaving her standing there and clutching her books tightly to her chest. It wasn't her fault she was like this everytime he was around her; she tried to move on but… time froze when she heard him mutter words of insults bringing indescribable pain when they first met.

* * *

**KAORU'S POV**

Walking to my last class of the day (Physics… yes, I'm heading to my early death by meeting with Physics), I thought of lunch a while ago. They seemed like a nice group of friends… really; and maybe I was even seen as an eyesore to others but what was really bothering me was Himura's constant and weird looks obviously directed at Tomoe the whole time. I was really about to go into deeper thinking when suddenly, the air was knocked from me as I was flung towards the empty hallway's lockers.

"Ittai…" I muttered, until I looked up and saw 3 girls who looked like pretty porcelain dolls with bright make-up. The first girl grabbed me by the arm and lifted me up, smiling devilishly.

"Well, well, if it isn't Kenshin-sama's whore…" I looked determinedly at their faces, and hissed,

"I'm not his whore. And I'm late. So could you please let go of me…" they pushed me against the lockers and while I considered screaming, their mischievous laughter filled the quiet air. I was nowhere near any classroom, and even if I did scream, they would've already gotten away if someone came.

"You think we'd let go of you that easily?" my throat was dry and my eyes stung; is this what would happen often in the near future if I continue with this charade that clearly wasn't worth it?

"Silly girl; why did he choose you? We'd agree more with him being with Megumi-dono or Tomoe-kun, heck, we'd agree if he was with Yumi-dono; but you? A nobody who suddenly is being claimed as his girlfriend? That's complete BS!" the first girl's voice rose while the other two kept me in place, their heeled shoes stomped over my red rubber shoes and their long, sharp, manicured nails digging into the my wrist; ouch, that'll leave a mark…

"What do you want from me?" I bit my lip so hard; I tasted metallic blood in my mouth.

"Oh, we don't want nothing from you, slut; pretty soon enough, he'll have to dump you anyway, and like disposable diapers, you will get replaced by someone who deserves him… someone… someone like me. It could be tonight, or tomorrow, or the next day, who knows? And uggh…" she looked at me up and down, like she was thinking how something as horrible as me possibly existed.

"No words can possibly describe your outfit, it makes me want to throw up." she smiled pulling out something from her skirt's pocket.

"And your hair… naturally pretty huh? Let's make it look like a _dead badger_, you know, like the one Kenshin-sama put in your locker a couple of years ago." They still remember that? She pulled out a small lighter, flicking it on. I tried to put it off by blowing it but the girl to my right roughly yanked my ponytail, keeping my face away and dangling my hair.

"You are not gonna get away with this." I barely muttered while the flame was getting closer and closer to me. I was panicking, and I tried struggling, but it was of no use. Oh dear Kami, was this it?

"Talk all you want, soon enough, that ugly face of yours is gonna get deformed…" The fire… it was warm, bright… and when I thought I'd lose all hope and end up living my life with bandages all over my face, a cool, voice stopped the incoming fire.

"You know… maybe if you ate some of that makeup you could be pretty on the inside." I opened my eyes and saw the last person I expected to help me… Himura Kenshin, with all his glory, was glaring katanas at the obviously shocked girls in front of me.

"K-Kenshin-sama!" the girl squeaked, dropping the lighter that was soon forgotten.

"Are you this vapid because you spend all your time in front of the mirror?" he came closer, and the other two holding my wrists suddenly let go, backing away slowly.

"W-We were just…"

"Would you like to experience dying and coming back?" they gulped in fear and I could only watch with terrified eyes as he drew closer. There it was again… burning amber eyes and the dark tone of voice. I inhaled sharply, suddenly remembering the fear I felt when those eyes were trained on me.

"Himura… that's enough…" he seemed like he wasn't even listening, but then his clear voice cut the air tension and even I was startled at how vicious he looked.

"Go. I won't be as forgiving next time." He harshly bit out the words and watched as they ran the way they came from, disappearing in the far-end corner. My heart was wildly thumping as I resisted the urge to hyperventilate. Then I turned to the still quiet form of Himura Kenshin, standing like a stone statue with his eyes still closed.

"H-Himura…" I whispered, trying to come close but he stopped me,

"Don't. Just… don't." he breathed out and no coherent words came out of me; I was on the verge of panicking and hysteria so you know what I did? I blurted out the first thing that came into my mind, which made no absolute sense or whatsoever.

"Ieatchocolatewheni'mdepressed!" I shut my eyes and waited for his answer… but like, duh, what was he supposed to say? And why, for the love of everything pink and fluffy, did I have to say something as stupid as that?

"What?" I cracked an eye open, hearing his normal tone of voice once more.

"I said… that I, Kaoru Kamiya… eat chocolate… when I'm… depressed," I fully opened my eyes to look at him straight, and… saw him covering his mouth with the back of his hand, obviously stifling his laughter. Well… that was embarrassing as hell.

"What? Okay, look here, mister; I was on the verge of collapsing, a-and I have no idea how to calm you and y-your state of madness and your aura of danger!" I huffed out as he laughed full out, his eyes reverting back to their normal shade of amethyst. So that's how he operates huh? Say something stupid and he'll revert back to his old self.

"You… you're really something else, you know that, Kamiya?" I stuck out a tongue at him, as he still continued to laugh.

"It's not that funny… And what's wrong with chocolate? And what are you even doing here?"

"Oh, straight to questioning already? Aren't you going to run teary-eyed in my arms while I utter words of comfort for you and you cry over the fact that your hair was about to get burned?" I gaped at him; did he just say that all in one breath?

"Stop looking at me like that, Kamiya; what are you, a fish?" I instantly closed my jaw and cleared my throat.

"You-Kenshin Himura-need to go visit a psychologist. Your double personality is terrifyingly freaking me out." I shuddered as an added effect while he just gave a sheepish smile.

"I was about to go excuse you and steal you away from your last class," I raised an eyebrow, he can do that?

"You can do that? And why?" he moved towards me, picking up the forgotten lighter and flicking it on, while I blew it off, giving him a look of disapproval. While he just proceeded to look amused.

"Well, you're coming with me… to a _decent_ mall, to get you… _normalized_," he looked me up and down, and I obviously rolled my eyes; is plain shoes with plain jeans with plain t-shirt and plain-jacket not normal? If it isn't, well, I don't know what is.

"And once you're human, I'll take you home." My eyes widened.

"Wait, what?!" …and he vigorously shook his head,

He frustratingly groaned, "Kami, why is this so hard; it's not what you're thinking… come on, we'll discuss more on the way there." He was about to grab hold of my wrist but I pulled it back, wincing at the nail scratches of my _caring _fellow schoolmates.

"I'm not going along with a person who was my dreaded enemy from the past 2 years… I hate you!" he was about to say something but I cut him off,

"I meant to say, I'm _supposed_ to hate you. You were a bully to me more than once, remember? You put a dead badger on my locker, I punched you during our first dance, you pushed me every single time we meet in the corridors and I filled your shoes with glue." I breathed out a sigh. "And I never said I completely agreed to this whole fake-dating fiasco… you saw what happened a while ago. They're gonna get more brutal, you know; your stupid _fan club_, that is."

"Uncle Hiko wants to meet you back home; tonight he's auctioning off the classiest weapons of history and he told me that he was going to hook me up in an arranged marriage with one of his closest weapon-dealer buddies if I can't introduce someone I'm currently involved with." He finished off with a sigh.

"I know this isn't the best of situations but _please… _help me out this once. Just this once… I swear this'll be the last time." See my point? See how he transforms from big, bad wolf to puppy-eyed snoopy the dog?

"Why don't you ask Takani-san? Or Tomoe-san?"

"Can't ask Meg or Tomoe, they're gonna be there too, as well as Sano and the others, so technically; me taking either of them doesn't really jive with our act, does it? I've already introduced _you _to them as my supposed _girlfriend,_ right? And you…" he moved closer, as I stepped back.

"You're different; you're not like the other girls, screaming their faces off for me and fainting every single time I smile," I didn't want to point out the arrogance… but it's really as obvious as day.

"And you're _perfect;_ because Uncle Hiko doesn't know you, so you don't have to meet him twice, and you want no absolute strings attached as you clearly stated you hated me. So _please, _help me out tonight." Oh, thanks for the compliment, Himura. I sighed.

"Great. My life is just great. I'm about to help the one I hate. Might as well be BFF's with those girls who planned on burning my hair earlier, huh? And you're asking me? And even nicely? Are you really _the_ Kenshin Himura?" he rolled his eyes at this, "Come on, I'll explain more on the way there." And with uncertainty I followed him out of the school towards a gleaming red sports car in the parking lot.

It was then when I realized Takani Megumi saying the same thing about my hair: naturally beautiful. I shook my head; there was no way she was behind this. And even if she was, what could I do about it?

* * *

I fiddled with the skirt of the simple white semi-formal dress I was wearing; not too short, not too long. Yeah, according to Himura, _this_ is the human look for them.

"Why was your Uncle rushing you again?" I asked, turning to him,

He sighed, "He thinks that I'm going to spend the rest of my existence married to a sword back home…" I stared at him, urging him to continue.

"Yes, I have this one precious sword named 'Sakabatou', and yes, I'm addicted to sword play and no, I'm not planning on spending my life vowed and attached to a precious piece of lifeless metal. Answer all your questions?" I freely laughed at his comment, turning on the radio. And aaa… the familiar lyrics of 'As Long as You Love Me' by Bieber comes on.

_As long as you love me, we could be starving, we could be homeless, we could be broke_

"What is your opinion on this song, Himura?" I asked, rolling my eyes heavenwards at the sappy, unrealistic lyrics; I mean like, the only reason girls worldwide is literally throwing themselves at him is because he's famous. He loses that and become starving, homeless, and broke; he loses everything.

"I don't know. I don't really care. And would you practice saying my name? I mean like, my first name. You're not planning on calling me 'Himura' all the time, are you?" he turned to look at me briefly before turning to the road,

"Okay… _Kenshin._ Ooh, Kami, that sends shivers down my spine." I shuddered at his name and he grinned like a madman.

_As long as you love me, I'll be your platinum, I'll be your silver, I'll be your gold_

"Girls don't want you to _be _their precious metals, Bieber; they want you to _give _them precious metals." I just talked to a radio, didn't I?

"Sarcastic as ever, Kamiya?" I turned to look at him and we shared a brief moment of laughter,

"But it's true! If you're a girl, would you like to spend eternity with a starving, homeless, broke guy?" I asked and answered, "Of course not!" laughing once more,

"Chill, it's just a song. Oh, but you've never been in love before, Kamiya, or have you? They once said, 'love knows no boundaries'." He countered and I smiled, feeling more at ease,

"Kenshin, dearest; you don't have to experience love to know its boundaries. It takes common sense. Love can't buy you burgers… or-or take you on restaurants… or bring you chocolate sundaes." And right now, a chocolate sundae is really sounding good to me.

He answered with a tired, sarcastic tone, "Kaoru, honey; do you really think of nothing but food?" I looked up, yes; indeed I do.

"So what if I do? It's better than you guys in highschool mostly fantasizing about their _dream _girls anyway." I leaned back; staring at the landscapes rushing past the black-tinted windows of the car.

"I do _not _fantasize. And bitter, are we? What, some guy you liked ignored you before?" I gaped at him; that is _not_ true!

"I'm not bitter, I'm realistic. And you're seriously taking sides with freaking _Justin Bieber?"_ he laughed once more,

"As I said: I don't know and I never really cared… and probably _would_ never care. You girls, however, do you spend every minute of your everyday life criticizing and judging someone you don't know? If you do, then… go get a life." he smirked and I playfully punched him in the shoulder. I don't do that… do I?

"And you can go jump off a cliff, Himura," I replied, sticking out my tongue,

"Back to Himura already?" then a familiar tune wrapped around us,

_Loving him is like driving a new Maserati down a dead-end street_

"Oooh… listen, listen: it's Taylor Swift's 'Red'" I turned up the volume; I don't know why, but when I heard this song… I found out I actually liked it.

"And you're calling yourself realistic? You just like this song because of my hair, don't you?" I could do nothing more than stare at him in the most horrible way I know.

"You know you just made the most despicable connection to one of my favorite songs. Now I'll never be able to listen to this song without your… _hair _coming to mind. Urggh… just disturbing." He simply smirked while I turned to glare at him, a large view of a mansion suddenly coming up into view. I sucked in a deep breath… Well, it's now or never.

* * *

Now, if you ever find yourself sitting in front the scariest, deadliest, most terrifying and intimidating weapon-dealer, just _smile_. Smile as if the whole world was a package in your hand, smile as if nothing can ever go wrong, heck, smile as much as Barbie does, because that's what I'm doing now; and so far, nothing has physically harmed me… yet.

"So, Kaoru, was it? How'd you and baka desshi end up together? I still remember you two being frequently called to the principal's office before." He smiled, taking a shot out of the sake, and a girl beside him pouring some again.

"It just… happened. I don't know how it worked out either." I nervously replied, taking note of the scenery. The place was humongous, a wide space in front as the stage for the auction (I guess), the tables were littered everywhere, and guests in formal suits and attires were bombarding the place. In our table, were me, Himura, his Uncle Hiko, and 3 strange girls who kept throwing me dirty looks time to time.

After a time of chatter, introductions, explaining, and Himura's constant whining, I found out that Seijuro-sama was actually really easy to talk to. (Haha, yeah, I somehow got close enough to call him Seijuro-sama.) He took another swig at the sake and I finally asked a question I've been itching to ask moments ago.

"Not to be disrespectful, Seijuro-sama, but when did you actually start drinking?" Himura's eyes shot up to mine and immediately, and I regretted asking the question, feeling the atmosphere tense, but then he answered, with a smile, may I add.

"A daring question from a daring girl." I gulped,

"I started when I was of legal age. Life was a bitch, by the way. And sake was my comforter back then. Sometimes, when I reflect back on all the sake I drink, I feel ashamed." He shrugged and smirked cockily,

"Then I look into the glass and think about the workers in the brewery and all of their hopes and dreams. If I didn't drink this, they might be out of work and their dreams would be shattered. Then I say to myself, 'It is better that I drink this sake and let their dreams come true than be selfish and worry about my liver.'" He laughed out loud, causing all of us to follow. I admired this man's humor and personality; then again, why do all the people around Himura seem to be so wonderful while him… well, never mind.

"Ah, well, it's been a pleasure talking to you, Kaoru; baka desshi better take care of you well. So, I must go first and arrange some… stuff."

"It was really nice conversing with you too, sir." I stood up and shook hands with him, feeling like a formal, gracious businesswoman while Seijuro-sama strode away from the table. As I took a seat once more, I heard the girl across me mutter,

"I've seen tables with better looking legs than hers." I flushed from the statement and pretended I didn't hear; but Himura quickly noticed my change in mood. Oh, ground, why won't you just open up and eat me?

"You okay?" he asked, his brows furrowed, and I smiled,

"Would you rather I make a scene?" I jokingly asked, as dinner was served. Himura was checking his wristwatch from time to time, and searching the crowd; probably waiting for Sagara and the others.

And still, the girl across wouldn't stop glaring, so I just proceeded to ignore her. Until her sickeningly-sweet voice spoke up,

"Could you pass me the sugar, sugar?" she addressed to Himura and he looked up, smirking as he passed the bottle of sugar. The first time I shrugged; thinking it was normal to see every female specimen ogle Himura, anyways. But then the second statement…

"Could you pass me the honey, honey?" Himura obliged, but this time, her fingers meant to slip over his. And he smiled. What the? Was he openly flirting with her? With me here? I snapped my head to see her grin the bitchy grin, and I forced out,

"Could you pass me the bacon, pig?" her very smile turned almost comically upside down, and the blood from her face drained; her eyes glaring daggers at me, whilst roughly handing the plate of bacon. She huffed loudly and leaned back, obviously lost her appetite in the food, I guess.

Then I heard Himura snicker beside me. He had the nerve to _snicker?_ I elbowed him harshly,

"What are you snickering about?" I hissed, keeping a decent but forced smile to observers.

"The face of jealousy suits you, love." Narcissistic jerk.

"What fool do you take me for? And when exactly does the auction start?" I glared at him, itching to just go home and sleep.

"Give the old man a few more minutes." He rolled his eyes and checked his wristwatch for the umpteenth time today.

"Taking their time, huh?" I nudged him and looked at his watch,

"Whuh?" he turned to me and smiled, scratching the back of his head sheepishly, "Yeah, the guys are pretty late." And speaking of, the front doors opened to reveal Sagara, Takani, Shinomori… and Yukishiro Enishi; the other Yukishiro however, was nowhere in sight. When the doors closed once more, I turned to look at Himura and his eyes held… what was it? Disappointment? I furrowed my brows, they were here, weren't they?

"Hey." Shinomori slightly smiled and bumped fists with Himura… who looked like his dog just died. Now what was his problem?

"Hey, man. You look like you're actually disappointed to see us. Or… maybe because the other Yukishiro is missing?" he slightly teased, and Himura glared back, clearly touchy on that subject. So, the root of this entire charade, was because… Sagara was teasing Himura about Tomoe-san? How… shallow… might I say.

"Tori-atama, you do realize the girlfriend's sitting over there, right?" Takani Megumi smiled my way as they sat around the obviously large table, driving the 3 unknown girls away.

"Oh, jou-chan; almost missed you right there." He smiled, I smiled… end of interaction.

"So, Enishi; where's Tomoe?" I didn't mean to eavesdrop but… it's hard to miss a conversation between someone beside me, and someone in front of me; the latter, being Enishi.

"She had some… important appointment to go to." I raised an eyebrow, and he didn't tag along?

"Too bad. They were auctioning her favorite Kaiken dagger too." He smiled wistfully and that didn't go unnoticed by me. What exactly was going on between them?

"Yeah. I'm going to get it in her stead." And with finality in Yukishiro Enishi's ice-cold voice, a voice boomed through the grand speakers, signaling the start of the long-awaited auction.

* * *

The auction was slightly short; seeing how the gentlemen fought their battles for a single piece of worldwide known piece of weapon (Wasn't shocked when Enishi won the dagger; his cold, dark glare was really intimidating… like really…) and the dance came on next. I wasn't even aware there was a dance until Seijuro-sama urged Himura (Forced, actually) to take my hand and dance. So now I stand awkwardly in the arms of my once arch-nemesis, while his foot on the other hand, suffered immensely from my constant wrongs.

"Kaoru, loosen up. Just dance, even if you have to warn others to get out of the way first." He told me firsthand, and now he held me, colorfully swearing words. I had to stifle my laughter, or else I would face the amber-eyed side of this boy again. And that is one event I would never want to experience again.

"Do you remember the first time you asked me to a dance?" I whispered, _accidentally_ stepping on his left foot and muttering a small apology.

"Yeah… thank Kami I didn't ask you to _dance; _or else my poor, young foot would have been amputated by now." I slightly slapped him at the shoulder, lightly laughing.

"You were expecting Tomoe-san a while ago?" I suddenly blurted out, and he scoffed, obviously in denial.

"No… I wasn't." Yeah right, you weren't.

"Oh, relax, Himura; you do know you're acting like a kid who suddenly discovered he has a crush, right?" he swore under his breath as one of my heels stomped on his once more.

"I do _not_ have crushes. And why bring up that subject? Just dance, 'kay?" DENIAL. I simply rolled my eyes,

"Whatever you say, captain obvious." The night slowly drifted away… with the oblivious song I wasn't aware of became stuck in my mind.

* * *

I stared the last word, tapping my pen on the notebook. Being alone in an empty, eerie apartment really isn't the best place to extract my thoughts on the black notebook. Yeah, in the end, the auction had been a short battle for some, a few farewells here and there, and Himura had to drive me home. The white dress was laid out plainly on my bed, while I take in its marvelous color of purity once more.

"This… just won't do." jumping out of the swivel chair, I made my way towards the kitchen, opening the kitchen cabinet where I usually store my food to find… cobwebs. Dearest me, I'm out of food… _again._ I looked the wall clock; reading 10:15. Oh, it's still early out; I'll just have to go to the nearby conbini store open for 24 hours. And a peaceful walk sounds nice. So grabbing my thick, blue jacket and slipping on white rubber shoes, I began to head for the door.

Heading towards the way to the nearest conbini store, I found myself staring at a red sports car parked not too far away. Was it… could it be possible… I ran to a tree nearby and observed more closely; no mistaking, it was Himura's car… parked in front of… wasn't this the Yukishiro's residence? What was he doing here? Why should I care? But more importantly… what am I still doing here?

* * *

And one chapter done! Yep, by now I'll start writing longer chapters so… yeah. It's 2:10 in the morning so goodmor-night to all of you.

Special thanks to:

**Kenshinotaku**

**SomeoneSomeone**

**Aurumpotestasest,itstrue: ****(Yeah… thanks so much for pointing out the plot hole, I've already edited the 2****nd**** chapter. ^^,**

**Kokoronagomu**

REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! Haha, please write something, anything, thoughts, comments, yeah. Thanks to all who read and jaa ne~~

~~~May~~~


	4. Chapter 4

To The Unknown Black Book,

Let's start with this one big question: what do you think is the meaning of life? If this were a Q & A for a beauty pageant (Not saying that I'll ever participate in one) I'd say; the meaning of life depends on each one's insights on it. For me, I believe life conveys a meaning deeper than the bluest ocean, higher than the skies, as it is filled with the beauty and joy of experiences, of overcoming failures, jumping over the highest hurdles, and most of all, finding your true self and believing you can accomplish everything with fate and trust in the Lord. That, dear black notebook, would be my answer. But if it was an ordinary acquaintance asking that ordinary question on an ordinary day, I'd simply say; _food and sleep_.

So now you can imagine me sighing, dealing with a bad case of insomnia which was keeping me up since Friday night; which happened to be the night where I had _accidentally _spied on Himura (Talking to himself; now don't get shocked, not the talking-to-himself-creepy kind of thing, but more like rehearsing) in front of the Yukishiro residence. Shall we proceed to the flashback?

* * *

I just made it in time to hide behind a large tree beside Himura's car as he walked out, leaning against his car. I had to fully hide, as he proceeded to look around, so now I stand hidden against the massive trunk of the tree, facing the dark, cloudy skies ; oh, of all the times, _please _don't rain now.

I heard him sigh, "Tomoe…" he muttered and I barely heard, as I tried to move closer.

"I came here to give you this…" I got down to my knees, carefully peeking out to see him dangling a… it was something shiny, attached to a silver chain… necklace?

"And to let you know…"

"To let you know that…" to let her know what, Himura?

"That I _think_ I love you, not as your brother, but as an equal… And because I want you to be my girl." I felt like a bucket of ice-cold water was dumped over me, as I felt a gust of cold wind rush over me. He what? I would've laughed for the sheer cheesiness, but then I had wondered; all this time, what Sagara had been accusing was true? What I had anticipated was really true? Why didn't he want the others to know? Why didn't he want Sagara to help him and—and… play _cupid_ to them? Himura Kenshin… why? I slumped down and hugged my knees, feeling the cold wind rush past once more… oh, it was really going to rain, wasn't it? Then suddenly, the headlights of another car; startling black at that, drove and slowed down at the Yukishiro driveway.

I glanced to Himura to see him furrow his brows and enter the passenger seat, and I continued to stare at who came out of the car.

And there she was… Yukishiro Tomoe, wearing a mini black dress; her hair elegantly put up in a bun… and also came out an unfamiliar guy, wearing the varsity jacket of a known high elite school, Higashikaigan Gakuen (Natural competitors with Raijin Gakuen.) I watched as the couple hugged intimately, sharing one last kiss before Tomoe-san finally went in, as the guy drove away. Oh my Kami, this isn't going to be a happy ending for one certain red-head.

Himura's car was as silent as night, and as all the lights turned off permanently for the night, I sat wondering what I would do. Should I talk to him? Comfort him? Tease him and say, 'Hey Himura, the girl you pined for just dumped you? Bummer, huh?' I sighed.

The car's passenger-side door opened, only to be slammed angrily shut again. With apparent pained expression, I stared at Himura's unmoving profile, blood-red bangs covering his head which was drooped low. And as if the weather was suddenly matching the horrible mood, raindrops started to fall. Wasn't he getting in the car? Sensing that if I wasn't going to do anything, he might spend the entire night standing there; so I slowly got up to stand (May Kami cool his head) and move out of my hiding place.

"You're gonna catch a cold just standing there." His head slowly looked up, his hair sagging and dripping with the cold liquid. Huh, as if I wasn't getting wet.

"Why don't you speak for yourself." The rain continued to fall down from the skies and I sighed tiredly; I apparently am in no mood, whatsoever to deal with a heartbroken little baby.

"What, do you think Tomoe-san is going to rush out of her house all worried and help shelter you from the rain?" his eyes shot up with venom but I trudged forward, holding in his terrifying gaze.

"This isn't one of those sappy, dramatic soaps where the lead actor always ends with up with the leading actress, Himura." We were now standing closely, as his eyes never left mine. What the hell was I supposed to do now? Unconsciously, I slowly raised my hand but was deftly caught by his,

"What're you doing?" he mumbled, and a smile flitted through my face, shaking out his hand and proceeded to…

"Ray-gun…" I softly tapped his forehead with my index finger, as he stood to stare incredulously weird at me.

"That was me impersonating Urameshi Yusuke. If you don't who he is… then… you haven't had a great childhood. I'm getting in, so if you wanna stand there until dawn… well, suit yourself," I smiled brightly, getting into the passenger seat. I thought he wouldn't enter and actually let the rain pour over him, but he soon followed, getting into the driver seat, muttering something along the lines of 'Where the hell did Urameshi Yusuke come out from…' deafening silence filled the atmosphere.

"Well, this is awkward…" I started, as he pointedly looked at me, eyebrows furrowed in irritation,

"Why are you here?" I chewed on my lower lip; I should've just ran all the way back to the apartment,

"I was… out to buy ramen and food, but then I spotted your car and decided to stay for a minute, then I heard you talking to yourself-I mean, _rehearsing_ your lines to say to Tomoe-san, then the black car came and I couldn't move out of my spot then the rain started pouring then I wanted to ask you some questions and…" oh, I'm talking too much, aren't I? At that realization, I shut up; looking forward and stealing side-way glances at Himura.

Then the engine revved to life.

"Where are we going?" I innocently asked, while he, on the other hand, simply ignored me.

"Moody jerk…" I muttered,

"What was that?"

"Nothing. Nothing… just a passing thought." I slyly smiled, as he drove forward into the darkness.

* * *

10 minutes later I found myself staring at the vast, wide field of… nothingness. Himura parked the car at the very end of the cliff and below was a dark, glimmering view of the city, with lights impersonating the stars up above.

"And you brought me here because…" I started unsurely,

"We need to talk." I nodded. Yup, that seemed right. I have a _lot_ of questions.

"Of course we do. Can I start by literally feeding you questions?" I asked, and he nodded, his mood still clearly dark and with a twinge of sadness.

"You are… in love with Tomoe-san, correct?" he glared and shrugged,

"And you went there to confess, correct?" another shrug,

"But you don't want Sagara to set you up with her?" guess what he does? He shrugs. Getting irritated, I slapped his arm,

"Will you stop it with that? It's annoying because you're not a shrugger; so quit shrugging, shrugger." I glared hard, he glared harder; oh, I'm having the time of my life having glaring contests with the volcano's advocate, aren't I?

"Let's have a girl-to-girl talk, Himura," I started, and he cut me off,

"Are you mocking me?"

"Okay-_okay… _what about _heart-to-heart_ talk," despite the hateful glare he was sending me, I wanted to roll on the floor laughing at his irritated facial expression. He gritted through his teeth, and I just had the time to send him one crooked smile,

"I swear if you don't-" I burst out laughing; well his expression was just so… so… indescribable!

"Fine… fine." We looked at each other, and for the first time that night, we both shared a laugh; not forced, not plastic; just a simple, friendly and rare amused smile.

"Okay. So why didn't you want Sagara to set you up?" he sighed, eyes closing and leaned his head on the headrest,

"Because she already has someone."

I scoffed, "And you still planned on your cheesy confession? And… why for Barney's sake wasn't Sagara even aware?"

"Oh, trust me, he was very aware and for some 'instinctual deep reason', Sano despised Kiyosato Akira, you know… the guy who…" his voice faltered and he looked at me, and I simply nodded my head, understanding what he meant. So that's his name, _Kiyosato Akira._

"But then a few days ago Tomoe told us that they've 'cooled off' for a little while. And Sano being Sano, he kinda picked up on my… reactions to the events. Then he started making calculations in his head, even though I kept denying that I _liked_ Tomoe." _Well, good job denying, Mr. Noticeable, _I itched to say, but he continued,

"So he started locking us up in confined spaces, teasing us, encouraging the others to do the same, giving us stupid _couple-names_…" his expression contorted into a face of disgust for the said couple-names, which I found interesting… what had it been? _KenTo? KenMoe? ToShin? Dare I say it… ToKen? _I let out a Cheshire grin at the ridiculous names,

"He even put a black skeleton-designed plush teddy bear he described as 'cute' in her locker with my name on it! And with the price tag too… Kami, I guess that's the effect of combining the Sekihoutai's captain's son with those loads of BS, then I nearly choked him to death that day,"

"But what had really forced me to stop him by kissing the first _decent _girl I see on the corridors and declare she's my girlfriend, was Tomoe's reactions to all of Sano's pranks. Those past few days were the worst I've seen of Tomoe; eyes blank, sometimes red and puffy, lips and skin pale, lifeless voice, and her exploding smile turned into a gruesome twitch of the lips. Then a while ago she'd suddenly looked blooming and radiant and I guessed she was finally over him. So I decided to break the fake-dating after the dinner-auction and confess to her, but instead I get to see them together once more, going all lovey-dovey like bullcrap." He turned to stare at me and I was half-aware of the fact that I was giving him a look of combined pity and appreciation,

"I just wanted to tell her how stupid I was for not being able to do anything when she was at her lowest… when we were kids, how dense I was for not sensing her problems, when we were slowly maturing, how thick my head was for not sensing her discomfort and now… how foolish I was for not sensing the fact that girl I had wanted all along had just been my best friend." I felt something stir in me, the feeling was choking and straining and burning and I felt breathless and in need for something… a joke, or a funny statement, something to lift the invisible pressure I felt building up in me. Breaking eye contact, I blinked slowly, and whipped up the most sarcastic words I needed to be able to return to normal.

"Oh my Kami, Himura… that was the most beautiful thing I've ever heard. And it came from _you… _you of all people. And the trouble with life is that it doesn't have the background music…" he rolled his eyes, and stared ahead, as did I; glad for the momentary silence. The rain slowly wallowed and turned into light drizzles and while the sparkling lights reflected into my eyes, I couldn't help but take glances at the now quiet red-head.

"You know…" he turned to me and I fiddled with my thumbs, wondering what I should say,

"That was also the longest explanation I've heard from you," I smiled uneasily; breathe Kaoru, steady breathing will make you normal once more… I inhaled sharply,

"So I'd be expecting us to be back to old-time-strangers-after-2-years-of-being-enemies by Monday, huh?" now I was feeling the slight disappointment and cursed inwardly; what am I being disappointed for? I've done just fine before this all began anyways, what was seriously wrong with me?

"Kamiya…" his voice, with all gentleness and breathiness,

"Yes?" I squeaked back,

"Will you do me a favor?" …first, the _kind_ Himura, next, the _explanative_ Himura, now the _favor-asking_ Himura? Are these the signs of the apocalypse?

"What?"

"Assassinate Kiyosato." My eyes widened. What?

_Cricket. Cricket._

"I'm kidding." Aha… aha… ahahahaha… okay, what? Was I really supposed to laugh? Insert the 'You Don't Say' meme here; describing my whole reaction to his so called 'joke.'

"Real nice, Himura; making jokes about killing off your competitor, that's real healthy for your mind." I rubbed my temples to emphasize my point, lightly laughing with Himura.

"Well, just continue being my fake-girlfriend." He put his arms behind his head and leaned back, his still-gloomy amethyst eyes and slightly damp ruby-red hair glittering in the now clear moonlight; finally the rain had stop. By the way, since when did I start observing his features? Why am I studying him, of all the things bright and wonderful?

"And why the Burberry should I do that?" I raised an eyebrow, crossing my arms. His look displayed obvious disinterest and forced reaction for explaining once more. Oooh… I don't like the atmosphere and where this is actually going,

"Should I remind you of the fact that if I were to make you as one of my one day 'date-and-dump' girls, what would it do to your already ragged reputation as a student of Raijin?" I thought hard, indeed, it _was_ true, the issue would most probably last for a good 2 months with people avoiding me like the plague and calling me 'slut' or 'bitch' or 'his/hers nth whore' or a series of 'I-told-you-so's' before I turn to vapor and dissolve into the air once more. Despite that, I still tried avoiding the inevitable; see what I mean when things don't usually go your way? Well, expect twisting-twists like that in your life.

"Well, it's not as if anyone ever knew me; they probably won't even recognize me," I answered, but in truth, I was surely unsure. He stared at me incredulously,

"Are you sure you've been a student of Raijin for the past 2 years? Because where have you been when those thick and fast gossips go about? The buried and hidden library? Now, answer me, who am I?" he asked and I rolled my eyes, here we go again…

"You're Himura Kenshin." I answered in a bored tone, leaning against the black-tinted window,

"And who is Himura Kenshin?"

"An egotistical-"

"Who is _Himura Kenshin_?" he asked in a low, irritated tone, accompanied with a look that says 'Be sarcastic once more and I'll torture you with Bieber's 'Baby' song,' in which I shuddered involuntarily.

"…Seriously? You expect me to answer that?"

"Just answer it, Kamiya," I glared at him, mentally picturing him drowning in a pool of his own arrogance, very deep, indeed… very, very, _very _deep.

"The successor of Seijuro Hiko, the most famous weapon-dealer on the face of Japan." This I hissed, and he gave a slight smirk,

"And?" Kami, what does he want to hear?

"And… one of the boys in school that girls literally cling like leeches to." I turned to see him with a satisfactory smile. Curses, it would be my pleasure to someday feed him to my pet dinosaur.

"Exactly. You think they'd simply _forget_ about you? What do you take Raijin for?" okay, okay; so he's made a non-refutable argument… oh, fudge, I'm caught up again!

"I can defend myself." I stuck my nose up in the air, gathering up whatever's left of my self-confidence,

"Really, Kaoru, really? Because I'm certain you did a pretty messed up job of defending your hair from a teeny-tiny bit of fire." I inwardly groaned, well, how I wished he'd had amnesia,

"Well, what do _you_ need me for? You've obviously came to your realization in your 'feelings' for Tomoe-san!" I exclaimed, waiting for his apparent answer,

"For one, you can help me avoid those 'leeches' and arranged marriages, then you could help stop Sano for whatever nightmare he's trying to formulate, then you could get close to Tomoe, say good stuff about me, and maybe with luck get her jealous, get to know Kiyosato, and… that pretty much covers it." I rolled my eyes for the umpteenth time that night; what is he, preschool?

"Just why would I do that?"

"You can ask me for anything you want in return; just until Tomoe and Kiyosato breaks it off," here goes the tempting offer again,

"Anything?"

"Yes, as I said; as long as it doesn't involve mutilations and you commanding me to 'go jump off a cliff' or something related to that."

"Food and money?" I asked, and he considered a bit,

"How much money?" he asked, and I grinned; well, looks like I found a solution to a part-time job, income, and delicious food.

"Oh, you decide it. But once I'm unsatisfied, I'm out." I spoke with my own voice of arrogance,

"Okay, my love." He answered with a sarcastic tone accompanied by a mischievous grin, and I turned to glare back as he clearly dropped the subject with another roll of the eyes. Then my thoughts wandered out again… out to a certain silver-chained necklace he was about to give,

"When are you planning on giving the necklace?" he look startled, but then fished the said necklace out of his jacket's right pocket, drawing out a necklace with stars dangling from it. I took it and observed it closely; the stars formed the familiar figure of the tail of the little dipper, and what were highlighted were the decorated precious ruby rhinestones at the end star; the Polaris, I think. I glanced to up to him,

"Polaris?" I asked,

"Yes, the Polaris; a fairly bright star, and like Tomoe, she is the only one who could hardly move while the other stars wheel around it. She never changes; she always is and always will be the sweet, bubbly and cheerful girl I know. Hence, the Polaris." Once more, I found myself staring deadpanned at Himura.

"You know, it's almost as if a knowledgeable and charming alien took over your form today, Himura. You can just guess how stupefied and speechless I am right now." I almost had the urge to ask for the necklace, but I knew it was meant for Tomoe so… with a tight-lipped smile, I returned it.

"You do realize it's almost 1 in the morning, right?" he simple smirked, revving the engine to life once more.

"So? You really are one helpless little virgin, aren't you?" I punched his shoulder, him muttering a small 'ow' before proceeding to drive me home. We passed familiar streets and once more, I flicked the radio button on.

Guess what was on? Aaa… I'm not totally familiar with the song… it goes;

_This… right here… is my… swag…_

_All… the girls… are on me… damn…_

_Every… body… pay… attention…_

_Cause this… right here… is my… swag…_

"It's 1 in the morning and they still play songs like these?" I asked Himura to see him smirking,

"It sounds like the wheelchair kid from 'Malcolm in the Middle'." I slapped his shoulder once more when he laughed,

"I mean like, seriously; what does he mean by 'swag'? Is he pointing to some sort of memorabilia or some type of window decoration or something?" I mean, it's just _wrong._

This time, he turned the station over; which was currently playing… 'Eternal Flame'

_I believe, it's meant to be, darling_

_I watch you when you are sleeping_

_You belong to me_

_Do you feel the same?_

_Am I only dreaming?_

"Happy?" he turned to me and I nodded enthusiastically. My heart was beating erratically again, and for some unknown reason, it made my hands clammy and my mind reel. What on space? 'Eternal Flame' never had this effect on me before. And suddenly I sneezed, feeling the cold air chill around me once more. He motioned to turn the heater on but then cursed silently,

"What?" I asked,

"It's broken." He stopped momentarily, taking off his jacket and giving it to me; oh, Sir Cardiovascular de Heart, stop beating so loudly! Please don't affect my speech pattern, please don't affect my speech pattern; oh, as if chanting it would really help.

"S-Seriously, Himura, I don't need your jacket; we're in the car and the apartment is pretty close by, so…"

"Just put it on. And wear it on Monday." He muttered and I nodded; oh, I see, for the public eye, huh? A twinge of unknown disappointment coursed through me; I think what I need is a really, really long sleep tonight. Yeah, I'm just tired and exhausted and all I need is a relaxing sleep… at least, that's what I'd like to believe.

"Right. But it's also soaking we-"

"Just put it on." And with that I clamped my mouth shut. He really didn't make any sense; and neither did my supposedly hardened 'feelings'. Not at all.

That night was extraordinary… and that was when insomnia started haunting me, the song of The Bangles' 'Eternal Flame' repeating over and over and over in my head. Oh, the joy of sleeping still do continue to elude me. Tomorrow is Saturday huh? I sighed; closing my eyes and forcing myself to fall into the endless abyss of slumber.

* * *

Sunday. I cracked an eye open. It was an early Sunday morning and I could do nothing but stare at the bright, white ceiling. What should I do today? Yesterday, Saturday, I had done nothing but surf the internet and play online games the whole day. A pretty relaxing time, as I listen to Delta Goodrem's songs and imagine myself actually having a life.

Now as far as I'm concerned, we have no home works, no projects, and no nothing. I slowly got up, stretching and looking out the window beside me; it was peaceful… sunny… and bright, unlike Friday night's awful rainy night; but still, I couldn't force myself to feel disappointment based on the events which unfolded yesterday.

"I'm a little teapot, short and stout…" and yes, I sing random children's song every morning; why? I smiled a small smile, remembering how my mom used to sing me these songs to wake me up early in the morning. Ugh, get out of the sappy memory lane, Kaoru; things are never gonna be the same again and there's so much more to do than mope around and reminisce the past.

Where should I go? The park? The restaurant? The sea? I yawned. And so I made up my mind to just go drop by the bookstore in the mall… and probably eat too, since I have no food in here anyways. Well, bookstore and Conbini store; here I come.

* * *

An hour later I find myself reading the summarization of Isaac Marion's 'Warm Bodies', apparently about a zombie falling in love with a human; another revision of Romoe and Juliet, huh? And as crazy as the idea seemed, I was more than interested, until a familiar, agitated voice made me glance to my right.

"What do you mean, you can't come? I've been waiting for more than half an hour here." oh crap, oh stud, oh freakin' hello kitty on chocolate cake! Why was she here? I stumbled and quickly hid myself in one of the bookshelves' sides, muttering and hoping she didn't see me. Yukishiro Tomoe walked out of the bookstore, and I released a sigh of relief, but then, I remembered; things usually don't go my way.

"Kaoru-chan?" I stiffened. How the _hell_ did she get behind me? I slowly turned around, dreading the much awaited possibility of the voice being hers. Despite my unfruitful attempt of wishing, I blinked as she smiled brightly, knocking on the transparent and clear glass separating the library from the outside. She motioned her hand for me to come out and I could only let my shoulders sag and force a smile equally bright as hers.

"Hey," I choked out, lowering my gaze to my shoes. Why am I acting like this? Was I actually uncomfortable being with Himura's 'Polaris' star?

"Kaoru-chan! I never thought I'd meet you here!" she gave me a friendly hug and my mind instantly reeled back to the things a certain red-head said about her. Sweet, bubbly, and cheerful. As I said; the type of girl I would never be. Smiling once more, I asked,

"Tomoe-san, what're you doing here?" wow, real nice conversation starter Kaoru; just real nice. She smiled an obviously gloomy smile,

"I'm supposed to be meeting with someone but I guess he didn't… I mean, he was busy." She kept the look of wistfulness; was it Kiyosato-san? When I was about to offer my 'condolences' and mentally criticize this Kiyosato for being a 'gentledog' rather than a gentleman, she shook her head and bounced back to earth with more energy than usual.

"Ah! What're we still doing here? Come on! We have so much shopping to do!" she grabbed my hand and my eyes widened in surprise; what the zombie? Shopping? I'm pretty sure I'm not fit for that right now because as far as I know, I'm pretty much broke! I only brought enough money for snacks, I won't receive my parents' weekly allowance until tonight, and… I'm wearing nothing but plain sweat pants, black shirt, and my hair up in a high ponytail (I look like some early morning jogger in need of a shower, though I had taken one this morning) and my supposed companion all 'dolled-up' for the occasion.

"Tomoe-san, I'm sorry but I-" she waved her hand in the air, cutting me off,

"I told you to call just call me 'Tomoe' right? And come on! You're about to go home right away anyways, right? Just come with, I promise it'll be fun," oh, but that's what Dora the explorer also said! Her eyes gleamed and her never-fading smile grew wider as I sighed, inwardly groaning,

"Oh, all right, but-" she jumped with excitement,

"Yes! We're gonna have so much fun together! And I'll share to you some of Kenshin's most embarrassing moments on the way." huh. I doubt I'll even get to use those in a blackmail,

"But I don't have anything on me right now, I only brought enough money for _my _snacks," she seemed to consider this for a bit, tapping her chin with her index finger. And light an imaginary bulb on the top of her head; she got an idea.

"I know! I could lend you some money for the clothes, and it'll be my treat for some; but next time, you're gonna have to treat me too, 'mmkay?" I smiled; _if_ there would be a next time.

"Sure. But we _are_ going to eat first… right?" I raised an eyebrow, if this entire ordeal doesn't even involve food then…

"Of course, silly! Kenshin did get his facts right yesterday; you are, in his words, 'head-over-feet obsessed with food.'" She slightly laughed. Oh really? That blabbing jerk… but wait; they were together yesterday? Uff, why would I care? Why am I even questioning myself?

"He said that?" she nodded, twirling a lock of dark hair around her fingers,

"Come on, we're going to the snack bar first," she linked her arms with me and skipped towards the snack bar. Hmm, who would've thought? Maybe this wasn't so bad after all.

* * *

Tomoe had dragged me all over the place, buying all sorts of clothing material she considered 'cute' and at the same time, tried finding a piece of clothing for me we both liked; trust me, there hasn't been one in the entire hour we've been searching. She was actually really fun to be with; full of humor, jokes, hers and Himura's experiences back when they were younger, and other stuff. I also found her comfortable to be around with, seeing as I easily opened up to her and shared what high-school was like for an ordinary girl like me.

And when I thought Kami-sama had given up on my current fashion statement, we actually agreed on something that wasn't too short, too skimpy, too conservative, or too geeky. It was a simple silk-white like off-shoulder dress, reaching just below the knees and got a pair of white sandals to go with.

Stuff toys amuse her, whereas I find them useless; after all, you can't eat a stuff toy, right? She loves receiving red roses, I prefer white roses; the red color just reminds me of a certain someone who had the same hateful hair color. I love books, she hates them; says she'd rather watch for a couple of hours than waste an entire day stuffing colorless, picture-less black and white words in her head. She does ballet, whereas I… dance like a stick. I can play the piano, whereas she… plays the drums like someone on crack. But within those times, I did also found some similarities with her; we both love cheese-flavored popcorn, shiny, shimmery jewelries, tying our hair up (Does that count?), and listening to music.

And now we were off to the salon, said she; something I didn't really find entertaining.

"Tomoe… I'm hungry…" I whined, leaning my head back on the pink and pastel-colored fluff couch, with the ever-gleaming bubbly Tomoe sitting beside me.

"Ouch…" that was my fifth reaction to the stupid pedicure (I should've said no), and heard Tomoe giggle beside me.

"Come on, Kaoru, come on. We just had dessert." She looked straightly at me, and once more, I whined, itching to get out of this human size doll-house of a salon spa.

"No… I'm really, _really _hungry." She rolled her eyes, slapping my shoulder jokingly.

"Well, hello hungry, I'm Tomoe." I gaped at her, was she seriously taking this as a joke?

"Tomoe, I'm _serious._"

"No, you're not. You're hungry." I gave an indignant cry at her amused laughter.

"You're joking!" I squeaked out, throwing my arms upward for emphasis.

"No, I'm Tomoe." At this, we both broke out laughing; and for the first time, I really felt at ease.

"So… how're things with you and Kenshin?" Our laughter died down as I remembered the night nearly 2 days ago. That's right; Himura was-no, _is_ currently pining for this girl. I tilted my head, what should I say? _'Oh we're doing just fine… Himura obsessing over you… me obsessing over peanut butter… yeah, we're going great. Got chemistry on our side.'_ Kami, have mercy.

"We're… getting along just fine." I nodded, smiling briefly but unsurely,

"Really, Kaoru? Really?" now it was my turn to roll my eyes, was she seriously going to start doubting our relationship now? Huh, I wonder how her relationship with Kiyosato Akira's going, but judging how he didn't come to be with her today, I'm saying their going through a bit of a rough patch.

"Who are you, detective Conan? You don't need to know every detail in our relationship, now, do you?" she smirked; telling the pedicurist to apply light pink nail polish, asking me in return.

"Just the natural color, please." I smiled as Tomoe proceeded to look at me weirdly,

"What?" I ask, raising an eyebrow,

"You're sooo… I don't know… conservative! And boring…" she exclaimed; what? I am not _that _conservative and boring! I pouted,

"I don't want to see my nails looking dead or abnormal or something…" I shook my head, while the pedicurist continued to wait for the final decision.

"There are _tons _of better colors than just the plain, old shiny, shimmery-shimmery opaque nail polish!" she exclaimed,

"Fine! I'll go with the natural color with the French tip then." She rolled her eyes, laughing with me. Then I began to formulate a plan in mind, I said I'd help Himura so… here goes nothing…

"We're friends, right?" I asked firsthand, but not exactly sure why. She looked at me with an expression that said 'Doh' and I preceded, the words getting stuck in my throat,

"Well, honestly; did you ever have a… what do they call this… a thing for Himu-I mean, Kenshin?" she looked thoughtful for awhile, and I tapped my fingers on the armrest, scanning her thoughts as if I were some psychic girl who can read minds. She smiled, then turned to me,

"What do you think?" gosh, what do I think? Cause honestly, I don't know what to think! I furrowed my eyebrows, is she giving me some kind of clue or something? She looks… nonchalant, then suddenly her face broke into a wide grin,

"He's always been like a brother to me, so don't worry, I won't do anything to steal him away from you, and I already have someone else." and she finished with a wink. I had the urge to laugh out loud; her stealing Himura from me? I don't even own the guy! And Himura's basically chained to her by some invisible red thread… and for the love of dark chocolate, I just want the extra money and food!

"Aww… you're actually worried for Kenshin? That's so sweet! You do care so much for him…" she nudged me with her elbow and I could only smile, trying to feel all giggly while inside I was ready to throw up. Care? Himura Kenshin? Those two don't belong together in my world, he could go bait himself and feed himself to the fishes for all I care!

Manicurists now proceeded to our fingernails, now pampering them as our toenails were set to dry. Then I quipped up the next question,

"Oh, and you mentioned you already have a certain someone? Who is it?" her face brightened, and I could instantly tell how much she adored the guy named Kiyosato Akira.

"His name's Kiyosato Akira, president of the student council in Higashikaigan Gakuen and both his parents are lawyers." She smiled, before continuing, "I met him during one of dad's cases where he was being sued and accused of bribery; dad hired Akira's dad as his lawyer and shock, sparks fly the moment we met… the positive sparks fly…" Oh, how cheesy… but I guess that how highschool is supposed to be, right? Bless me with more feelings, Kami-sama… wait; actually don't, I don't want to deal with all this drama when my life isn't supposed to have any drama.

Tomoe looked like she was in cloud 9, just talking about how awesome this Kiyosato is. Oh, Himura, it seems like you're gonna have to wait a little bit just to have a measly chance with her.

"…then he told me to wait inside the bookstore, but he never came. Said they had a problem concerning some masquerade or something I don't want to go into detail with." Her smile comically turned upside down, "Ooohh… he's going to be sorry the next time we meet." We laughed together, looking out the window to see pink outlines in the sky. I smiled, the feeling of finally having a friend, even for a day, was surprisingly… great.

* * *

After exchanging numbers and another dose of laughter and goodbyes for today, we finally went separate ways. I walked into the apartment, picking up a letter; well, look-ie here, my money's finally arrived. I grinned, settling back in the plush blue chair in front of the television. Pulling out a black notebook out of the table drawer, I set it out in the open and began to write.

* * *

Dear… oh Nevermind, Call Yourself Anything You Want; Except 'Diary',

Today was… simply crazy. For the first time in 2 years time, I experienced spending the day with a friend. Look, I don't know what the future holds, but if we were to be enemies tomorrow, then I'd simply move on and be thankful for today.

Duh, of course not; I'll be no hypocrite to a black, lifeless notebook and say that if she turned out to be one of those things people compare to a female dog, then I'd probably hate her, for being 'plastically synthetic'… and myself, for not noticing that… and Himura, for liking her. But I doubt that'd happen, she _is_ a real friend; otherwise she wouldn't have tamed the biggest jerk in Raijin.

I don't know what else to write, that's pretty much everything that happened today; so… yeah, I think I'll just go now and have a friendly conversation with Simsimi.

The cute and dipper figure of Simsimi resurfaced.

_Hi~! _

(What should I say to you, Simsimi? Let's start with my name, shall we?)

Kaoru Kamiya

_She is in love with Kenshin Himura._

What? No, she's not!

_Okay, my love!_

O_O Stop talking like Kenshin! (Err… Himura, I mean…)

_Are u telling or asking nicely_

I'm TELLING you.

_Nooo_

I really don't have a life, now, do I?

_No, you just have a face that's it! No eyes! No nose! No mouth! How do you breath you may ask? The fish gills you have on your neck that's how…_

You're as insulting as the others!

_Oh ok :( _

And you know what? Kenshin Himura is head over heels in love with Yukishiro Tomoe!

_Awwww. Love you too_

But why do I feel disturbed? Why do I care? I don't!

_Try to reflect on your actions, what you're currently doing._

…I'm going to bed.

_Good night!_

*sigh* thanks for the help, Simsimi… if there was any…

_No problem :) _

Dense as Tomoe, aren't you?

_Shaw_

Oh, whatever

_I'm sorry_

Sorry for what?

_I cheated on you! *cries* I'm sorry!_

Is that line supposed to be related to my situation? Shut up and go to sleep.

_Umm well move then cause our room is that way_

…Sayonara, Simsimi. Hope you crash… kidding, don't crash… I have no one to talk to

_I will be your friend_

Aww… Arigatou, and good night, again

_Ok, mama, love you –falls asleep-_

-_- I'll pretend to not read that

_Well what_

Whelp; I've learned a new lesson though, don't talk to an application on your phone named Simsimi if you want to stay sane.

* * *

Finally done! ^^, thanks to all who read and review… and please continue to read and review! Sorry for any misspells and wrong grammar, and by the way, the conversation above was _real. _I typed it, and Simsimi answered. ^^, good-night to all of you!

Special thanks to:

**YukiroMinamoto**

**CupofTeaforAliceandHatter**

**Murder-of-the-Night**

**Guest**

**Kokoronagomu**

Either ways, I'm flattered and I appreciate all of your comments. ^^,

REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! Haha, please write something, anything, thoughts, comments, yeah. Thanks to all who read and jaa ne~~

~~~May~~~


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